Needs analysis......hmmmm. I wonder if there was a needs analysis done on our students when the new curriculum was adopted. I doubt it. If there was, they would have taken into account that our students have a different cultural background from the majority population. They would have also figured out that our context is different and many of our students learn through "hands on" teaching. It is ironic that although our school has an improvement plan in progress, there hasn't been a needs analysis done on our students. (Im not aware of one.) It seems that the improvement plan only further disadvantages our students further by forcing them to learn a curriculum that is foreign to them. The curriculum doesn't take into account our students' unique learning styles and needs. When the Saxon spokepeople came to promote the curriculum, I found myself thinking critically, (which is something I probably wouldn't have done a couple years ago.) They made it sound like the curriculum would do wonders for our school. I found myself thinking, "Of course they are going to make it sound great, its their job!" After looking at the curriculum, I saw how it promoted Western concepts and had very little relevance to our students. Through my experiences in teaching, I like to believe that I have done informal needs analysis' on my students. I know they tend to become bored with concepts they can't relate to. Because I am aware of their learning needs and interests, I am familiar with the topics that will pique their interests. If we did more needs analysis research on our students' maybe we will be able to gather pertinent information that can help us to make real improvements.

chapter 7

While reading this chapter, I found myself relating to many of the points mentioned, specifically the information mentioned regarding mechanistic vs. organic model. I have participated in the mechanistic model and have found it to be very restrictive and a very top down system. The principal in this model told us that he was a "macro" manager and preferred to deal with business in that way. He was very distant from the staff and didn't appear open to teacher ideas. The current principal we have has a different philosophy. He is more approachable and open to ideas from teachers. This chapter has also made me reflect on my past experiences in the Immersion program. I also found some, "Really!" moments. For example on page 205, the author states that, "Language teachers often suffer from poor employment conditions. They are not always recognized as trained professionals with specialized skills and knowledge." I remember when I worked in Immersion, we had more than our fair share of work to do. Translating and gathering stories and songs took a lot of time. Some people may view language teachers in a different light, but I am very satisfied with my child's teacher and knows that she has the expertise for the end goal.